Samsung shows off Linux desktops on Galaxy smartmobes

Ubuntu – all of it – running Eclipse on a phone, and a DeX dock

Video Samsung's shown a little more of its plans to run fully-fledged Linux desktops on its 8-series Galaxy smartmobes.

Samsung teased the idea of Linux on its flagship phones in October 2017, promising that Linux would run in your hand or, if you use its DeX dock, in full desktop mode on a monitor. Now it's released the video below to show off its idea.

Described as a “Concept Demo”, the vid has a couple of interesting moments.

The first comes at the 12 second mark, after the “Linux on Galaxy” app has been run. At this point we see Ubuntu 16 listed, along with a plus sign to add other OSes to the app. This appears to make good on Samsung's promise that you'll be able to have multiple OSes in your Galaxy.

Not long after the app boots, an Ubuntu desktop duly appears and runs Eclipse.

In its original announcement of Linux on Galaxy, Samsung said it was aimed at developers wanting Linux wherever they may roam, on the off-chance they feel like doing a spot of coding on a very small screen. At 1:09 in the video below, the company puts some meat on those bones by suggesting Linux on a smartphone means developers can “use classic IDE desktop IDE for native ARM development.”

Which sounds a bit more like it as The Register can imagine developers using a handset to test an app and tweaking it on the run, popping a phone in and out of a dock when a proper look at the code is required.

Samsung's still not saying when Linux on Galaxy will debut, but at least now we know it's more than advanced than mere announcementware. The company's still offering the chance to sign up for more info about the tool, here. ®